The Union health ministry will soon amend the Drugs and Cosmetics (D&C) Rules, 1945 to add a suitable provision to prohibit import of cosmetics tested on animals.

The Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), the health ministry's highest decision-making body on technical matters, has made a recommendation to the ministry in this regard. The DTAB, in its meeting held on November 25 last year, discussed the issue in detail and recommended that a suitable provision may be added under the D&C Rules to prohibit the import of cosmetics tested on animals.

In the DTAB meeting, drugs controller general of India (DCGI) Dr GN Singh, who is the member secretary of the Board, explained to the members that representations have been received from the Humane Society International, India, Rama Chandra Khuntia, MP, Rajya Sabha, Rud raraju Padmaraju, member AICC, Hyderabad and others for a ban on the import and sale of cosmetic product in India where either the final formulation or any raw ingredient has been subject to new animal testing by or on behalf of the manufacturers. It has been stated that banning of the import and sale of newly animal tested cosmetics will help consumers to make a compassionate choice. It would position our country ahead of other “BRICS” nations in the area of ethical consumerism. The European Union, in March, 2013 has prohibited the sale of animal tested cosmetics in the EU countries.

The European Union had in 2009 initiated measures for banning marketing of cosmetics tested on animals. In March, 2013 EU has imposed prohibition of the marketing of the cosmetics and their ingredients which have been tested on animals irrespective of the fact that whether alternate method in place of toxicity study to prove the safety of the cosmetic products is in place or not. However, other countries of the world including USA, Australia, Japan etc have not yet made such provision which prohibits the marketing of cosmetics tested on animals.

The Board in the meeting noted that the ministry of health & family welfare is already in the process of prohibiting the use of animals in testing of cosmetics manufactured in the country. India should therefore take a lead in prohibiting the import of cosmetics tested in animals also.